Meili, doctors right about gov’t indifference to HIV

Even if one concludes that Dr. Ryan Meili is so brilliant, politically speaking, that he somehow managed to manipulate some 30 other strong-minded doctors into participating in Monday's HIV announcement to further his own NDP leadership agenda, let us step back and look at the bigger picture.

Are we doing enough to address the problem? Do we need to do more? Is it just possible that Meili — notwithstanding whatever naked ambition he still harbours to lead the Saskatchewan NDP — just might have valid concerns about the government not doing enough about the HIV epidemic in Saskatchewan?

Does government now ignore the criticism or downplay the concern about this terrifying rise in Saskatchewan HIV rates because one of the 30 doctors involved in treating HIV and demanding more government help has political connections to the opposition?

Are we not at least 30 years past the awful AIDS politics of the 1980s, when the U.S. religious right declared the epidemic the righteous wrath of God?

At issue is Monday's appeal by 30 Saskatchewan doctors — including Meili, who surfaced as the group's spokesperson — to develop a coalition of provincial, federal and First Nations leadership to tackle an HIV rate double the national average.

“We are seeing an increase in the number of cases,” said Meili, who also happens to be one of the doctors working with HIV-positive patients. “For example, there were 114 new cases in 2014, 158 in 2015. In the last 10 years, we've seen over 1,500 people infected with HIV in the province ...

“When you look at the pockets of real outbreak, it's extremely severe. We're seeing numbers at the level of developing countries with high levels of HIV.”

Added Dr. Stephen Sanche: “We perceive this as an emergency. Two people are dying every month. Over 10 people are being diagnosed with new infections every month and that's only going up. So we're really sounding the alarm.”

Sanche also promoted more public education, universal screening and treatment, and support and universal coverage of antiretroviral treatment for HIV-positive patients that, he said, would cost around $500,000.

Saskatchewan's HIV crisis has been especially devastating to the First Nations community — especially because of lingering stigma.

“HIV doesn't care what colour your skin is,” said Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Felix Thomas, who added that while Vancouver has effective HIV strategies that produce falling rates of infection, Saskatoon is just getting around to opening its first HIV hospice.

Thomas also noted the west side clinic and needle exchange is completely funded by the STC without any help or input from the provincial government. He said the province needs to step up to help address the crisis.

“It's still an unpopular disease,” he said. “It's still a disease that people think only affects a certain segment of the population — and that's something we have to get past.” The government's response? Well, in anticipation of this event, Premier Brad Wall's communication office sent out an advisory to reporters stating: “I hear that Dr. Ryan Meili is holding some sort of news conference today regarding HIV numbers in Saskatchewan.”

The communication note then went on to claim the Wall government still had an ongoing HIV strategy (though it conceded its “formal” strategy concluded in 2014) and presented “some facts”: It has invested $4 million in strategies, has established outreach clinics in northern and First Nations communities and has dedicated 10 registered nurses to HIV treatment as part of “the continuum for HIV care.”

Yes, things have been done to address HIV. But not enough has been done.

And what might be most needed is a change in attitude from what we saw Monday morning, when the government contended the rise in rates was largely due to increased access to testing for HIV — a 48-percent increase to 72,069 in 2015, compared with 48,843 tests done in 2009.

The government then told reporters it would make available Dr. Denise Werker, provincial medical health officer, to handle the anticipated criticism.

Clearly, there's still too much politics in the HIV debate.

However, those politics Monday weren't coming from aspiring NDP leadership candidate Ryan Meili.